We can’t think of Halloween without thinking of a jack-o’-lantern! A Halloween with “Jack” would be like Christmas without Santa, or Easter without the Bunny.
The jack-o’-lantern unlike any other holiday symbol has evolved into a true expression of individuality. In our hands an orange gourd becomes a work of art, of fun, of silliness, or fright. It can be dressed in a simple crooked smile, bedazzled in a fancy display of paint and rhinestones, or carved into a truly frightening face!
Where did this tradition of carving a pumpkin come from?
It’s not too outlandish to believe that these porch guardians have a history steeped in superstition, and like much of our lore, this one has a fascinating evolution – but only one namesake.
Meet Stingy Jack!
Irish lore has the jack-o’-lantern getting its name from this saucy lad. Unscrupulous and all together not very bright, Stingy Jack decides to make a deal with the devil for riches. Of course, such deals never go well for mere mortals! Jack dies and neither Heaven nor Hell will take him. So over misty bogs and meadow Jack roams caught between this world and the next!
(This is most definitely a tale for Halloween!)
As Jack had no light to wander through the dark starless nights, he boldly asked the Devil how he could see with no light? The Devil gave him a piece of fired coal, and Jack carved a turnip to carry it with him. The Irish came to know him as “Jack of the Lantern” or “Jack-o’-Lantern”. With his “lantern” in hand, Jack’s light could be seen dancing through the foggy meadows of Ireland.
Jack’s story is reminiscent of the tales of the will-o’-the-wisp found in many countries and cultures throughout the world.
Will-o’-the-wisps are the natural ethereal lights often seen by travelers at night over marshes, bogs, or lakes.
Jack’s “carved turnip” was especially useful during the Celtic festival of Samhain. Samhain means the “end of summer” in Gaelic, and was celebrated by Celts living in Ireland, the U.K. and other parts of Northern Europe. Samhain signaled the end of the harvest season and the start of the dark winter months. Initially held on November 1st, the festival was grounded in the belief that the veil between the world of humans, the gods, and spirits was momentarily pulled aside. Spirits dance and cavorted in the human world, gods were especially up to their trickery, and humans were meant to honor their dead and to take stalk of their own lives as they prepared for what was then considered the start of a new year. Bonfires were lit and costumes were worn to disguise one from the ghosts and gods meaning to harm them. Jack’s lit turnip became carved root vegetables with scary faces to turn away any particularly annoying or frightening spirits.
With the advent of Christianity across Europe, Samhain gave way to All Saints Day, a time to honor the Christian saints on November 1st, followed by All Souls Day on November 2nd, a day of remembrance, reflection, and the celebration of the lives of departed loved ones. The evening of October 31st became All Hallows’ Eve or All Saints’ Eve, now widely celebrated here in the U.S. as Halloween.
The traditions of Celtic turnip and root vegetable carvings evolved into the carving of the hardier and plentiful gourds and pumpkins as immigrants found their way to American Shores.
So how do we continue this lively and time-honored tradition, we carve our own Jack-o’-Lantern, of course!
As in any project, a good plan will yield a good result!
And, as with anything that involves a hard rind and a knife – go slow and be careful!
Ingredients for a handsome, scary, pretty, ugly, funny, silly, and/or brilliant jack-o’-lantern:
a pumpkin or pumpkins that suit your creative muse;
paper grocery bags, newspaper, or butcher paper for your beautiful mess;
pen or market (Permanent marker is best! All hail the Sharpie!) to design your carving area on the pumpkin;
pumpkin carving kit, or kitchen tools such as serrated and paring knives, and a large scoop, spoon, and regular table fork for scooping out “brains;”
bowls for seeds and “brains;”
rags and/or paper towels to wipe hands and clean-up your nice mess; and,
tea light candles for the inside of your “lantern”!
First, make sure you have all you need to start your carving adventure. This starts with some good tools. We highly recommend a pumpkin carving kit sold this time of year by your local pumpkin patch or store. These kits don’t need to be expensive, and should include a serrated easy to use knife, a smaller paring knife, and a toothed scoop for scraping out the seeds and fibrous strands. (We like to call these the pumpkin brains – wahahahaha – evil laugh!) Many of us already have these tools in our kitchen. Now we know some of you brilliant pumpkin carvers have all kinds of drills and Dremels, we salute you! We hope to get there someday!
Add a pen or marker for drawing your design onto your pumpkin. (Take a look at our Pumpkin Carving templates for some great inspiration!)
Next find a hard flat surface to work on, and paper it with flattened paper bags, newspaper, or butcher paper for protection. Place two bowls on it, one for seed collection, and the other for the “brains”, and grab yourself some rags or paper towels to wipe your hands with, you’ll be happy you did.
Now to the most important part: some will argue that its best to choose your pumpkin patch pumpkin with a pre-conceived carving image in mind. Others will insist that one should let the pumpkin be the muse and let it tell you what image should be carved. Remember a pumpkin’s “imperfections” can sometimes be a grand part of your carving. Warty pumpkins become grizzled old faces full of good cheer or menace, a slouching “dented” orb becomes a sitting cat, or a lopsided grin.
Once you’ve chosen your pumpkins (yes, I note pumpkins!), begin!
Draw your design using your pen or marker;
Carve around the stem of your pumpkin at an angle to create a pumpkin lid;
Remove the seeds of the pumpkin into your seed bowl, and clean out any remaining pumpkin brains from the inside of the pumpkin making it as smooth as possible;
Carve your design from the outside of the pumpkin using the serrated knife for the big cuttings, and the paring knife for the details; and
Place your tea light inside the pumpkin and replace the lid.
Don’t forget to roast your pumpkin seeds for a yummy treat! See our recipe section for some inspiration.
Have fun! We leave you now with this poem from 1879:
“Master Jack O’Lantern”
You’ve all heard of him I’m certain,
Whisking his light through the marshes,
The wicked, deceiving boy!
When the shades of evening are falling,
And the autumn day’s near its end
Oh, then he’s out on the moorland,
With Will o’ the Wisp, his friend.
Happy Halloween from all of us to all of you and yours!
After cultivating a massive jack-o'-lantern pumpkin weighing 2,749 pounds, Minnesota horticulture teacher Travis Gienger broke the record for the heaviest pumpkin on Monday October 10th, 2023 in California. For the full story, click on the picture to visit NBC.com.
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